1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for forming a molecularly imprinted polymer biosensor, more particularly to a method for forming a molecularly imprinted polymer film biosensor that is used for detecting an anesthetic.
2. Description of the Related Art
Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) biosensors are widely used in many applications, such as separations or extractions, artificial antibodies, catalysts, biosensors, and so on. Currently, a MIP film of the MIP biosensor is primarily made by preparing a reaction solution including an imprinting molecule (which has functional groups and a size similar to or the same as those of a target molecule), a functional monomer, a crosslinking agent, and an initiator; coating the reaction solution onto a substrate; curing and polymerizing the reaction solution to form a polymer film on the substrate; and extracting the imprinting molecule from the polymer film to form the MIP film having a plurality of recognition sites for binding to the target molecules.
A method for molecularly imprinting a material is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,273 and comprises: (1) coating a solution on a silicon wafer, the solution including a solvent, a polymeric material capable of undergoing an addition reaction with a nitrene, a crosslinking agent, a functional monomer, and an imprinting molecule; (2) evaporating the solvent to leave a residue; (3) exposing the residue to an energy source, thereby forming a crosslinked polymeric substrate; and (4) extracting the imprinting molecule from the crosslinked polymeric substrate. However, there is no discussion concerning how to improve the performance (e.g., adsorption specificity, sensitivity, and linearity between sensing voltages and concentrations of the target polymers, etc.) of the MIP film.
In the past, in order to improve the adsorption specificity of the conventional MIP film, the MIP film is preferably formed with a plurality of pores for increasing a surface area adapted to be placed in contact with the target molecules. Besides, the pores have a pore size that only permits passing of the target molecules. The pores of the MIP film can be increased by grinding or by adding a porogen in the solution. However, both of the methods for forming pores in the NIP film are likely to unfavorably destroy the recognition sites in the MIP film.